One of my favorite things about games is that they defy this kind of easy characterization. A game will generally offer players a bit of both experiences.

But I’m not sure where I was going with all that, and perhaps it’s fodder for an entirely different post…

You’re absolutely right to suggest Animal Crossing as a game that allows for plenty of time and reflection. If you aren’t sure what to do next and simply leave your avatar free to stand and swing his or her arms, well, big deal…it fits. And that’s a rare and wonderful synergy most games neglect in favor of strong motivation toward progress.

Not exactly sure what to expect from Flower, but it definitely sounds as if thatgamecompany wants to make some strides in uniting pace with player discovery and motivation.

Wow. I’ll have to be on the lookout for that Tim Schafer quote! No doubt in my mind that he’d be able to put it better than I.

In general this feature of games means that the player need to be heavily engaged– you don’t know what the next act is going to be or the next challenge the game is going to throw at you. there’s always this need for progress

But on the other hand there are a lot of games that cultivate this easy familiarity with the games rules, kind of like what you describe. Animal crossing is a good example of a game where there’s almost this stasis– you had only a few basic tasks (fishing, planting trees, or whatever) and you always kind of knew what to expect.

This kind of game was never– sublime, I guess– the way that Malick’s film or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was. Soothing maybe. From what I have heard about the game “Flower,” an upcoming PS3 title, it aims for something like this.